Load carriers for vehicles

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a load carrier for vehicles, comprising a load carrier bar which extends over the exterior of a vehicle, and support members which extend between the load carrier bay and the vehicle and which are releasably mountable on the vehicle and the load carrier bar with the aid of clamping devices which extend from each support member for engagement with the load carrier bar. The load carrier according to the invention is mainly characterized in that the support members are pivotable in relation to the load carrier bar and have locking devices, which are dependent on the pivot position of the support members and co-operate with the clamping devices and which are adapted to keep the support member and the load carrier bar clamped together in a first pivot position, a load-carrying position, of the support member with the aid of clamping devices, and to neutralize the clamping force produced by the clamping devices against the load carrier bar when changing to a second pivot position, a release position, with a view allowing a displacement/adjustment of the position of the support member along the load carrier bar.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a load carrier for vehicles, comprisinga load carrier bar which extends over the exterior of a vehicle, andsupport members which extend between the load carrier bar and thevehicle and which are releasably mountable on the load carrier bar withthe aid of clamping devices which extend from each support member forengagement with the load carrier bar.

The main object of the invention is to provide a reliable fitting of thesupport member to the load carrier bar, said fitting having a simplestructure and thus being advantageous from an economical point of view,while being easy to handle when attaching the support member to the loadcarrier bar and when adjusting the same along the load carrier bar toadapt the load carrier to the vehicle in question.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above-mentioned object is achieved by means of an inventive loadcarrier which is primarily characterised in that said support membersare pivotable in relation to the load carrier bar, preferably in a planeextending in the longitudinal direction of the load carrier bar, andhave locking devices which are dependent on the pivot position of thesupport members and co-operate with the clamping devices and which areadapted to keep the support member and the load carrier bar clampedtogether in a first pivot position, a load-carrying position, of thesupport member with the aid of the clamping devices, and to neutralisethe clamping force produced by the clamping means against the loadcarrier bar when changing to a second pivot position, a releaseposition, with a view to allowing a displacement/adjustment of theposition of the support member along the load carrier bar. By means ofthis design, in which the support member itself is pivoted in relationto the load carrier bar, a simple release and attachment of the supportmember to the load carrier bar is possible with the aid of simple andfirm manipulations, in which the person who handles the equipment cangrip the support member firmly from its outside and pivot the supportmember in relation to the load carrier bar, thereby avoiding complicatedoperations via sensitive power transmission links arranged in thesupport member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An embodiment of the invention will be described below with reference tothe accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a load carrier extending over a portion ofa vehicle;

FIG. 2 is a view on a larger scale, partially in section, of one endportion of the load carrier shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the load carrier bar with thedevices for fitting the support member to the same; and

FIGS. 4a-4 c are schematic views showing the engagement between thesupport member and the load carrier bar in various angular positions ofthe support member which are indicated in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The load carrier shown in FIG. 1 comprises a load carrier bar 2extending over a portion of the exterior of a vehicle 1 and supportmembers extending from the end portions of the load carrier bar to thevehicle body 1 are designated 3. The load carrier in its entirety isdesignated 4. Moreover, reference numeral 5 refers to gripping elementswhich are arranged to engage with edge portions of the vehicle body 1.The shown portion of the vehicle body can, for instance, be its top andthe gripping elements engage top edge portions along the sides of thevehicle, for instance, adjacent to the door cutouts of the vehicle.Since it is possible to vary the attachment of the support members tothe vehicle in many ways which are well known to the one skilled in theart and not important to the description of the invention, this will notbe described here in more detail. The illustrated fixing of the supportmembers to the vehicle body is thus only a schematically shown examplewhere the support members have a support surface 6 abutting against thevehicle top and a hook-shaped gripping means 7, which is actuatable withthe aid of suitable clamping devices (not shown) in connection with thesupport member and which engages an edge portion of the vehicle top 1.

In the embodiment shown, the load carrier bar 2 is formed as a hollowsection having a substantially rectangular cross-section. At least onone side, the load carrier bar has in the lower wall of the hollowsection a slot aperture 6 extending along the load carrier bar.Reference numeral 7 refers to a connecting rod having an enlarged head 7a which is positioned in the hollow section and which abuts against acentral part of a substantially yoke-shaped spring means 8, of which oneleg 8 a projects from the connecting rod 7 on each side of the same inthe direction of the hollow section. Furthermore, the legs of the springmeans have at their ends bent end portions 8 a ′ which abut against theinside of the hollow section with their terminal edges and form spacermeans, which results in the central portion of the spring means beingkept at a distance c from the inside of the inner wall of the loadcarrier section at least when the spring means is not under tension. Theconnecting rod 7 extends downwards out of the slot aperture 6 and isscrewed, with a threaded end portion, into a threaded boring 9 extendingthrough a pivot pin 10 which is turnably mounted in the support member3. The boring 9 is thus made in the transverse direction of the pivotpin 10. Reference numeral 11 refers to a support surface which is formedeccentrically with the centre of the pivot pin 10 and which abutsagainst the underside of the hollow section, in the shown embodiment viaa spacer plate 12. Reference symbols r¹-r³ refer to the radius extendingbetween the centre of the pivot pin 10 and three different locations onthe eccentric-like part of the support surface of the support member 3facing the load carrier bar. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, thesupport member 3 extends downwards and obliquely outwards to thelongitudinal side of the vehicle and has a support surface which isfacing the load carrier bar and which extends in the same longitudinaldirection as the load carrier bar, thus forming an abutment whichcounteracts a pivoting movement outwards of the support member inrelation to the load carrier bar beyond the shown position. The pivotposition of the support member which is indicated in FIG. 3 by fulllines corresponds to the normal position when using the load carrier onthe vehicle, i.e. the normal state for carrying a load. The tension ofthe spring 8 is adjustable by turning the threaded connecting rod 7 inthe threaded hole of the pivot pin 10. As a result, the deflection ofthe spring means 8 towards the inside of the hollow section can beadjusted. Thus the abutment force between the support member and theload carrier bar, which is necessary to keep the support member firmlyattached to the load carrier bar, can be adjusted in a simple manner.Preferably, this is carried out in advance at the factory. In theposition of the support member indicated by full lines, the radius r¹ isdirected perpendicularly to the load carrier bar. In the pivot position,indicated by III in FIG. 2, in relation to the load carrier bar, theradius r³ is, as is best seen in FIG. 4c, perpendicular to the loadcarrier bar, and in a position in between the radius r² is, as indicatedin FIG. 4b, perpendicular to the load carrier bar. Suitably, the radiir¹ and r³ are related to each other in such manner that the spring means8 only lightly abuts against the inside of the hollow section or theabutment has ceased in the position indicated with III and in theinwardly pivoted state of the support member 3. Suitably, the radius r²is greater than the other two radii, which results in a crest-likeportion being formed which must be passed by the support member whenpivoting between its position I and its position III. This implies thatthe pivoting of the support member from the position I towards therelease position III must take place while overcoming a certainresistance caused by the spring means 8. However, the difference inradius should not exceed the distance c between the spring means and theinside of the hollow section, since this would constitute an obstaclewhen passing the position II in which the crest portion of theeccentric-like support surface abuts against the load carrier bar.

Suitably, the end portions 8 a ′ of the spring means are somewhattapered at their terminal edges abutting against the hollow sectionand/or provided with a suitable friction-increasing surface structureand/or provided with suitable friction-increasing outer layers.

In the position I of the support member 3 shown in FIG. 2, the supportmember is firmly attached to the load carrier bar. A limited pivoting ofthe load carrier bar is, however, possible in relation to the supportmember, i.e. a limited deflection of the central portion of the loadcarrier bar is allowed. The load carrier bar then performs a rolling-offmovement against the eccentric-shaped support surface of the supportmember. By the point of support being displaced to the left in FIG. 2away from the centre of the connecting rod 7, the spring means 8 will bedeflected by the connecting rod 7 towards the inside of the hollowsection, thus reducing the distance c. This pivoting in relation to thesupport member is, however, only allowed until the distance c iseliminated, after which the spring means portion connecting with theconnecting rod and abutting against the inside of the hollow sectionprevents any further mutual pivoting movement. When further increasingthe load exerted on the load carrier bar in the portion located betweenthe support members, an additional deflection thereof will becounter-acted by a greater force. The permissible deflection of the loadcarrier bar and thus the permissible spring action of the same inrelation to the support member can be adjusted by selecting a suitablescrewed-in position of the connecting rod in the pivot pin 10 and thus asuitable distance c.

When the support member 3 has been pivoted to the pivot position III,its displacement position in the longitudinal direction of the loadcarrier bar can thus be adjusted and fixed when pivoting the supportmember to its pivot position I, the load-receiving position. When theslot aperture 6 extends all the way to the end of the load carrier bar,the support member can be completely released and once again passed onto the load carrier bar. In order to efficiently prevent any possibilityof the support member 3 turning around the centre of the connecting rod7 and thus horizontally in relation to the load carrier bar in theload-receiving position, the support member is suitably provided withside portions 3 a which project somewhat beyond the sides of the loadcarrier bar in this position, i.e. the position I.

The above-mentioned embodiment is only stated as an example and thedetails of the invention can be modified within the scope of theappended claims without departing from the basic idea of the invention.It is thus within the scope of the invention to let the support memberabut directly against the underside of the load carrier bar or tomanufacture the spring means 8 in a form different from the one shown inthe drawings. As mentioned by way of introduction, the design and thefitting of the support member to the vehicle can, of course, vary withinwide limits without departing from the idea of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A load carrier for vehicles, comprising: a loadcarrier bar (2) which extends over the exterior of a vehicle (1), andsupport members (3) which extend between the load carrier bar and thevehicle and which are releasably mountable on the vehicle, the supportmembers being releasably mountable to the load carrier bar with the aidof clamping devices (7-10) which extend from each support member (3) forengagement with the load carrier bar, said support members (3) arepivotable in relation to the load carrier bar (2) and have a lockingeffect dependent on the pivot position of the support members adapted tokeep the support member and the load carrier bar clamped together in afirst pivot position (I), a load-carrying position, of the supportmember with the aid of the clamping means, and to minimize the clampingforce produced by the clamping devices against the load carrier bar whenpivoted to a second pivot position (III), a release position, allowing adisplacement/adjustment of the position of the support member along theload carrier bar; the load carrier bar (2) is a tubular section which inits side facing the support member (3) is formed with a slot aperture(6) extending along the load carrier bar towards the inside thereof foroperative engagement with said clamping means.
 2. A load carrieraccording to claim 1, characterised in that the clamping devices has aconnecting rod (7), which extends from the support member (3) throughthe slot aperture of the load carrier bar and which has an abutment part(8), which extends at the inside of the load carrier bar beyond the sideedges of the slot aperture, said rod further being articulated to thesupport member, and the side of the support member facing the loadcarrier bar has a support surface (11) which is eccentric with a pivot(10) of the clamping devices in the support member and whose radialdistance r from the pivot (10) of the support member is greater in theload-carrying position (1; r¹) than in the release position (III; r³)concerning the support surface portion which is effective in therespective positions.
 3. A load carrier according to claim 2,characterised in that between the portions of the support surface (11)which are effective in the release position (III) and the load-carryingposition (I), respectively, there is a crest-forming transition portionwith a greater radial distance (r²) from the pivot (10) so that theload-carrying position and the release position are located each on oneside of the crest position.
 4. A load carrier according to claim 3,characterised in that the abutment part of the connecting rod in theload carrier bar includes a spring means (8) which acts between theconnecting rod and the inside of the load carrier bar and which allows alimited pivoting of the load carrier bar in relation to the supportmember when deflecting.
 5. A load carrier according to claim 4,characterised in that the clamping devices is adjusted in such mannerthat the spring means is substantially nontensioned in the releaseposition (III) of the support member and tightly tensioned in theload-carrying position (I) with a limited remaining range of spring (c)which is set to correspond to a desired maximum deflection of the loadcarrier bar in relation to the support member (3).
 6. A load carrieraccording to claim 2 characterised in that the connecting rod is screwedby means of a threaded portion into a pivot pin (10) which forms thepivot of the support member, whereby the pressure between the clampingmeans and the load carrier bar is adjustable by turning the connectingrod (7).
 7. A load carrier according to claim 4, characterised in thatthe spring means (8) is provided with two legs (8 a) which extend eachon one side of the connecting rod in the longitudinal direction of theload carrier bar and which abut against the inside of the load carrierbar with their outer end portions (8 a′).
 8. A load carrier according toclaim 3, characterised in that the abutment part of the connecting rodin the load carrier bar includes a spring means (8) which acts betweenthe connecting rod and the inside of the load carrier bar and whichallows a limited pivoting of the load carrier bar in relation to thesupport member when deflecting.
 9. A load carrier according to claim 3,characterized in that the connecting rod is screwed by means of athreaded portion into a pivot pin (10) which forms the pivot of thesupport member, whereby the pressure between the clamping means and theload carrier bar is adjustable by turning the connecting rod (7).
 10. Aload carrier according to claim 4, characterized in that the connectingrod is screwed by means of a threaded portion into a pivot pin (10)which forms the pivot of the support member, whereby the pressurebetween the clamping means and the load carrier bar is adjustable byturning the connecting rod (7).
 11. A load carrier according to claim 5,characterized in that the connecting rod is screwed by means of athreaded portion into a pivot pin (10) which forms the pivot of thesupport member, whereby the pressure between the clamping means and theload carrier bar is adjustable by turning the connecting rod (7).
 12. Aload carrier according to claim 5, characterized in that the springmeans (8) is provided with two legs (8 a) which extend each on one sideof the connecting rod in the longitudinal direction of the load carrierbar and which abut against the inside of the load carrier bar with theirouter end portions (8 a).